Charles Fleischer

3.1. Stand-up Comedy and Early Television Appearances

Fleischer began his professional career on the stand-up comedy circuit. His early breakthrough in television comedy came with an appearance on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In on January 15, 1973, where he showcased his unique homemade musical instruments crafted from lead pipes and shower wands. Following this, he secured a spot on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on May 15, 1974. He was also a regular on the television series Keep on Truckin' and guest-starred on The Weird Al Show as a band member. He also appeared on the short-lived Saturday morning show, Wacko. In January 2019, he performed improvised comedy alongside Bob Golub and Nick Aragon at the Laugh Factory inside the Tropicana Las Vegas.

3.2. Film Career

Fleischer has appeared in a variety of films, often in supporting or cameo roles. His early film career included appearances in horror films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), where he played Dr. King, and Deadly Friend (1986), where he provided the voice for BB. He also appeared in The Hand (1981) as David Maddow, Night Shift (1982) as a Prisoner, and The House of God (1984) as Hyper Hooper. Other notable on-screen roles include Terry in Back to the Future Part II (1989), a Reporter in Dick Tracy (1990), and Mr. Woodson in Gridlock'd (1997). He played Wally Enfield in Demon Knight (1995) and Randy in Ground Control (1998). In more recent years, he appeared as Bob Vaughn in David Fincher's thriller Zodiac (2007), played himself in Funny People (2009), and appeared as Frank Wiggins in Chain Letter (2009). His other film credits include Negative Space (2011), Dystopia (2012), Big Kiss (2004), and The Backlot Murders (2002).

3.3. Voice Acting

Fleischer is most widely recognized for his iconic voice work, particularly as the titular character Roger Rabbit in the 1988 live-action/animated comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit. In this film, he also voiced other characters including Benny the Cab, Greasy, and Psycho. Following the immense success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Fleischer continued to lend his voice to Roger Rabbit in various Disney television and theme park appearances, as well as in three follow-up theatrical shorts: Tummy Trouble (1989), Roller Coaster Rabbit (1990), and Trail Mix-Up (1993).

His other notable voice roles include Dweeb in We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993), the Elf General in The Polar Express (2004), and Elbows in Rango (2011). He also voiced Boris in the animated sequels Balto II: Wolf Quest (2002) and Balto III: Wings of Change (2004), and the White Mountain Postmaster in the latter. Fleischer returned to voice Roger Rabbit and the Chipmunks TV Announcer in the 2022 film Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers. His voice contributions extend to animated television series such as Monumentus in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000) and Benny the Cab in House of Mouse (2001, 2002). He also voiced characters in Men in Black: The Series (1999) and God, the Devil and Bob (2000).

3.4. Television Career

Fleischer has had a prolific career in television, appearing in numerous series. He had a recurring role as Carvelli in the 1970s TV series Welcome Back, Kotter from 1976 to 1979. He also played Chuck on the ABC series Laverne & Shirley (1982, 1983) and made appearances on Barney Miller (1975) as Floyd Spears, Sugar Time! (1977, 1978) as Lightning Jack Rappaport, and Hill Street Blues (1981) as Malibu.

His extensive list of guest and recurring roles includes Police Story (1974), Chico and the Man (1978), Aloha Paradise (1981), Hart to Hart (1981), The Paper Chase (1983), Simon & Simon (1985), Mr. Belvedere (1985), Punky Brewster (1985), Night Court (1985), Knight Rider (1985), George Burns Comedy Week (1985), It's a Living (1986), Tall Tales & Legends (1986), Hard Time on Planet Earth (1989), Disneyland (1990), Beverly Hills, 90210 (1991), Tales from the Crypt (1992), Baywatch Nights (1996), Weird Science (1996), Bone Chillers (1996), Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1996), Black Scorpion (2001), 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd (2001, 2002), The Drew Carey Show (2001, 2003), For the People (2002), Comic Remix (2003), Freddie (2005), and Women's Murder Club (2008).

3.5. Music and Other Activities

Beyond his acting career, Charles Fleischer is also a musician and songwriter. He performed the role of a televangelist on "What God Wants, Part II," a track from Roger Waters' 1992 album Amused to Death. He has also performed as a guest harmonica player with the group Blues Traveler at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles on November 22, 1995, and at the Improvisational theatre of Connecticut Avenue from December 10 to 15, 2002.

From December 2010 to September 2011, Fleischer hosted his own weekly web show titled Fleischer's Universe on Ustream.tv, which was produced by Brad Wyman.

7.1. Film

• The Death of Richie (1977) as Brick (credited)
• One on One (1977) as High School Student (uncredited)
• Crisis in Sun Valley (1978) as Shuyler
• Die Laughing (1980) as Charlie
• Blue Jeans (1980)
• The Hand (1981) as David Maddow
• Night Shift (1982) as Prisoner
• A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) as Dr. King
• The House of God (1984) as Hyper Hooper
• Bad Dreams (1988) as Ron the Pharmacist
• Gross Anatomy (1989)
• Back to the Future Part II (1989) as Terry
• Dick Tracy (1990) as Reporter
• Straight Talk (1992) as Tony
• Carry On Columbus (1992) as Pontiac
• My Girl 2 (1994) as Cab Driver
• Demon Knight (1995) as Wally Enfield
• The Best of Roger Rabbit (1996)
• Bone Chillers (1996) as Arnie
• Gridlock'd (1997) as Mr. Woodson
• Ground Control (1998) as Randy
• Permanent Midnight (1998) as Allen from Mr. Chompers
• Rusty: A Dog's Tale (1998) as Bart Bimini
• Palmer's Pick Up (1999)
• Genius (1999) as Dr. Krickstein
• Big Monster on Campus (2000) as Mr. Stockton
• Bel Air (2000) as Gus
• G-Men from Hell (2000) as Martin / Pete
• The Backlot Murders (2002) as Henry
• The 4th Tenor (2002) as Alphonse
• Pauly Shore Is Dead (2003) as Himself (uncredited)
• Big Kiss (2004) as Berezovich
• Zodiac (2007) as Bob Vaughn
• Funny People (2009) as Himself
• Chain Letter (2009) as Frank Wiggins
• Negative Space (2011) as Harry
• Dystopia (2012)
• Reality Queen! (2016) as Talk Show Host
• Prop Culture (2020) as Himself, Episode: "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"

7.2. Animated Film

• Deadly Friend (1986) as BB (voice)
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) as Roger Rabbit / Benny the Cab / Greasy / Psycho (voice)
• Mickey's 60th Birthday (1988) as Stagehand Charlie / Roger Rabbit (voice)
• Tummy Trouble (1989) as Roger Rabbit (voice)
• Roller Coaster Rabbit (1990) as Roger Rabbit (voice)
• Disney Sing-Along-Songs: Disneyland Fun (1990)
• Trail Mix-Up (1993) as Roger Rabbit (voice)
• We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993) as Dweeb (voice)
• Balto II: Wolf Quest (2002) as Boris (voice)
• Balto III: Wings of Change (2004) as Boris / White Mountain Postmaster (voice)
• The Polar Express (2004) as Elf General (voice)
• Rango (2011) as Elbows (voice)
• Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022) as Roger Rabbit / Chipmunks TV Announcer (voice)

7.3. Television

• Police Story (1974)
• Barney Miller (1975) as Floyd Spears (credited)
• Welcome Back, Kotter (1976-1979) as Carvelli
• Sugar Time! (1977, 1978) as Lightning Jack Rappaport
• Chico and the Man (1978)
• Hill Street Blues (1981) as Malibu
• Aloha Paradise (1981)
• Hart to Hart (1981)
• Laverne & Shirley (1982, 1983) as Chuck
• The Paper Chase (1983)
• Simon & Simon (1985)
• Mr. Belvedere (1985)
• Punky Brewster (1985)
• Night Court (1985)
• Knight Rider (1985)
• George Burns Comedy Week (1985)
• It's a Living (1986)
• Tall Tales & Legends (1986)
• Hard Time on Planet Earth (1989)
• Disneyland (1990)
• Beverly Hills, 90210 (1991)
• Tales from the Crypt (1992)
• Baywatch Nights (1996)
• Weird Science (1996)
• Bone Chillers (1996)
• Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1996)
• Black Scorpion (2001)
• 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd (2001, 2002)
• The Drew Carey Show (2001, 2003)
• For the People (2002)
• Comic Remix (2003)
• Freddie (2005)
• Women's Murder Club (2008)

7.4. Animated Television

• Men in Black: The Series (1999) (voice)
• God, the Devil and Bob (2000) (voice)
• Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000) as Monumentus (voice)
• House of Mouse (2001, 2002) as Benny the Cab (voice)